British Actress Blog

Chain Reaction (1996)

Score: 6/10

Director: Andrew Davis

Stars: Rachel Weisz, Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Brian Cox.

Synopsis: Two researchers are in a green energy project and are put on the run when they are framed for murder and treason.

Review: Dr. Lily Sinclair ( Rachel Weisz ) and scientist Eddie Kasalivich ( Keanu Reeves ) participate in a clean energy project when a nefarious group kills the lead scientist on the project and steels the plans for a new generator. This event causes the two to run from the law while trusting no one. Their goal is to prove their innocence and exposes the bad guys working from the shadows.

Rachel Weisz doesn’t do much in this film. Her role here is very passive. Her character is basically the same one from The Bourne Legacy (2012) when she played Dr. Shearing. Films such as Inferno (2016) and many others have a brunette holding the hand of the main male protagonist, while they are both running away from a bud guy with terrible aim, who is shooting at them, as they where amazing plot armor. Hollywood really does like rehashing the same old stuff over and over again with a slightly different story. As for Rachel Weisz’s performance, it was suitable and nothing more.

Keanu Reeves play a scientist that actually uses his brain and IQ to figure out how to survive. When he is dealing with a scientific environment or technology, he is in his zone. I find the character interesting how he adapts. I just like the fact that he is not overly naïve. Well done performance for Keanu Reeves.

The cinematography is well done. The lighting, backgrounds, and set dressing are all well done, especially for its time. The film does not use much CGI and that’s a good thing. The movie is actually high quality. The film gets better the more you watch it. The CIA aspect of the film is questionable at best. It feels like it’s a flat part of the story. Real Intelligence agencies have their own R&D department and they don’t have to leverage the knowledge of civilians who don’t have a security clearance so the plot seems implausible. The bad guys are trigger happy like crazy causing the police to get involved. That would cause an operations handler to scrap the mission. Of course this is just a movie but the whole conspiracy behind the cause of the plot is just sloppy. The movie is average for its time and only rental worthy. Not a bad film.

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The King’s Speech (2010)

Suffragette (2015)

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

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